Secrets
by I Heard A Voice
Summary: PostCyberwoman. Ianto's got some thinking to do. So, apparently, does Jack. Oneshot fic, pure drabble. T for minor JackIanto.


Title: Secrets

Rating: T for a teeny bit of slash.

Summary: Post-Cyberwoman. Ianto's got a lot on his mind. So, apparently, does Jack.

Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood, or any of its characters. Damn.

Read, review and enjoy (I hope) :)

* * *

"Ianto, fancy a walk?" Ianto turned to face Jack, puzzled.

"Any particular reason, sir?" he asked.

"Just to get outside, get some fresh air."

"In Cardiff?" Gwen asked from her table. Jack shrugged.

"Sounds good, sir," Ianto replied, smiling. He went to the door, but Jack stopped him.

"We'll take the lift," Jack said, leading the way. Ianto looked, confused, at Gwen, who shrugged and indicated that he should just follow Jack.

Jack stepped onto the curb stone and Ianto followed suit, stepping warily onto the brick which, he knew full well, was going to be going up through the air and into the outside world, nothing stopping them falling off. He tried, and failed, to ignore the butterflies in his stomach as Jack pressed the buttons necessary to get the lift moving. It wasn't that he was scared of heights… He just really, really, didn't trust a lift that apparently didn't have anything to keep them from falling off. The two men stood side by side, Ianto being very careful not to lose his footing.

"Whoa," Ianto said as the brick began its journey upwards, causing him to jerk backwards, and sub-consciously grabbed hold of Jack's arm. Jack frowned and put his hand on Ianto's shoulder so that the two were now face-to-face.

"You okay?" he asked, concerned. Blue eyes looking deeply into brown ones. Jack could lose himself in those eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ianto mumbled. "Just don't usually go this way, not used to it yet." Jack nodded, smiled and took his hand off Ianto's shoulder. Ianto was still clutching Jack's arm. Just as Jack realised that he hadn't let go, Ianto quickly, almost guiltily, released Jack's arm and looked at the floor. _Damn,_ Jack mused, _I jinxed it._

Jack found himself wondering what those suits covered. Images of gently bronzed and toned torsos came to his mind before he remembered that Ianto was actually quite pale and it would look completely out of place. _Didn't mean that he doesn't have a good body, though_, Jack thought. Looking up to try and judge what was going on underneath the tie, the two caught each other's eyes for just a second, before Ianto flushed and looked back at the floor. _Why does he look so guilty whenever he looks at me for more than a second?_ "Everything okay there, Ianto?" he asked. Ianto looked around him for the first time and discovered that they were on solid ground.

He smiled. "All okay now, sir." _God, that smile_, Jack thought and then began to panic. Had he said that out loud? But Ianto wasn't looking scared, or like he had heard Jack, so it must have been his increasingly sexual inner monologue. _It's so tempting to kiss him,_ Jack thought as Ianto stepped away from the stone. _Just to drag him back onto the lift and kiss him._ Ianto looked back, puzzled.

"You coming then, sir?" Jack nodded.

"Yeah, let's go."

"Where exactly are we going though?" Ianto asked.

"Just… around," Jack answered vaguely. He hoped that they'd just be able to take a break from Owen and Gwen's bickering, and God knew that Ianto needed time to think after Lisa. A ripple of anxiety filled Jack as he remembered what had happened. Obviously the whole killing-Lisa-Ianto-never-forgiving-him thing was bad enough, but then... Jack had kissed a lot of people, but with Ianto, it seemed different. It wasn't just because it was a life-saving kiss, that's what it was with Carys, but with Ianto, it was like a first kiss between lovers. Which was ridiculous, Jack reasoned, because as far as he knew, Ianto was still hung up over Lisa. He hadn't been himself, and that was to be expected. To be honest, he wasn't sure that Ianto remembered… But Jack certainly had.

"Are you alright, sir?" Ianto's voice interrupted Jack's thoughts. _Turned out I needed time to think as much as Ianto did,_ Jack thought.

"Sorry?"

"I said, are you alright?" It was Ianto's turn to look concerned now. Jack smiled.

"I'm okay."

"I was just wondering…" Jack began to fill with panic. Had he remembered about The Kiss?

Adrenalin flowing through his body, heart beating twice its usual speed, Jack asked, "Wondering what?" trying to appear casual.

"Should we be heading back? We've been gone a while now, the others could be getting worried."

Jack, grateful for this lucky escape, looked at his watch. "Might as well, there isn't much to do." Ianto nodded and turned back around to go back the way they came.

"You seemed lost in your thoughts then, sir," Ianto commented off-hand. "Something worrying you?"

"No, not at all, just thinking about what's going on, what might happen later…" Jack lied. "Why?"

"It's just, if you do need to talk, I'm always here. I've been told I'm a good listener." Ianto looked at Jack deeply, as if he was trying to work out what was behind those inscrutable eyes.

"Thanks, Ianto, I appreciate that." Jack smiled.

"Any time, sir."

After a moment's silence, Jack asked, "Why don't you ever call me Jack, Ianto?"

Ianto shrugged. "I don't know. It's just the way I was brought up. Why, would you prefer me to call you Jack… sir?"

_No,_ Jack thought. _I like you calling me sir. Reminds me that I'm your boss so I don't do anything stupid. Like kiss you. Again._ "I don't mind. If it's what you were taught, I won't mess with it. Call me sir if you find it more comfortable." _Not to mention,_ the dirty voice in his head added as an afterthought, _it sounds so submissive._

The two arrived back at the curb stone and stood on it for a while, debating when they were going to go back to the Hub.

"Thank you, Ianto." Jack said quietly.

"For what, sir?"

"For agreeing to come out with me. I thought you'd never forgive me for Lisa." Pain flickered briefly across Ianto's face, but the emotion seemed more muted than it had been previously.

"She wasn't herself by the time you saw her. She'd just let it take over. She wasn't my girlfriend by that point. I still loved her, though. I refused to admit to myself that what we had was over. But now, she's gone and I can accept it."

_This is it. I have to talk to him about The Kiss._ "Ianto, I also thought that maybe you were still angry about the kiss."

"Kiss, sir?"

Jack became nervous. "You know, I kissed you to revive you… You were half drowned." Ianto frowned slightly and shook his head.

"I don't remember that, sir," he said.

"I mean, really, it was more like CPR, but…" Jack desperately fought for control of the situation. He had to remember that! He sighed and pressed the combination on his watch to get the lift moving.

Ianto, still confused, shook his head. "I honestly don't…"

"Oh for God's sake…" Jack grabbed the back of Ianto's head and kissed him, hard, right on the mouth. Ianto stood still in shock at first, but then closed his eyes and moved his hands to the back of Jack's neck. Jack responded by wrapping his arms around Ianto's waist and pulling him closer. There was hardly a gap between the two and Ianto found that he was breathing shallower.

"Jack…" Ianto whispered, leaning further into the other man. Jack was about to draw him into another kiss when he noticed that they were back at the Hub and, by the grace of God, the others weren't there.

"We need to go," Jack said, quietly. "The others will come back and see us." Ianto stood there, silent. "Come on. And this… if you don't want them to know, it's fine. If you do, that's fine too."

"I'd prefer if it didn't get out," Ianto admitted.

"Then it never happened." Jack smiled, a new one that Ianto had never seen before. "It'll be our dirty little secret." That was when Ianto realised what that smile was- it was the smile between lovers, the one shared between a husband and his mistress. "But honestly, how the hell could you forget that?"

Ianto followed Jack back to the others, mute.

"Where did you two go then?" Owen asked them when they'd caught up.

"Just out," Ianto replied, flushing slightly. Owen, Gwen and Tosh exchanged glances. Ianto and Jack simultaneously felt a thrill of fear. _They knew._

"Did you have fun?" Gwen asked innocently.

"Tons," Jack replied, friendly but with a firm tone that said 'this conversation is over.' "Why don't you all just pack up and go home? It's been a long day, and there isn't much else we can do. See you tomorrow." Owen, Tosh and Gwen all went to get their things and leave, but Ianto stuck around.

"One last cup of coffee, sir?"

"No, thank you. Go on home – I'll see you tomorrow." Ianto nodded and collected his things too.

It was only when the building was silent and everyone else had gone home that he realised that Ianto had called him 'Jack'.


End file.
